


Paris Stiched in Gold

by ThisIsMyStory_ItsALittleStrange (TeachUsSomethingPlease)



Series: L.A.D.Y.B.U.(d)G-verse [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Lila Rossi Bashing, Post-Lila Exposure, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26985574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeachUsSomethingPlease/pseuds/ThisIsMyStory_ItsALittleStrange
Summary: A short aftermath of L.A.D.Y.B.U.(d)G.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel/Chloé Bourgeois/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Series: L.A.D.Y.B.U.(d)G-verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937254
Comments: 6
Kudos: 103





	Paris Stiched in Gold

The irony of Gabriel Agreste's unfortunate realization that his son was perfectly capable of sneaking out when displeased was that, by loosening his bonds in the hope that Adrien wouldn't go behind his back, Hawkmoth made it that much easier for Éradichat to arrive at his fights, not that either party was aware of this. Oh well.

"Abellé! Come down here!" Éradichat calls, and the pretty girl in the pantomime mask jumps down from the building above, somehow (somehow!) landing evenly despite an honest-to-goodness pair of gold heels. Media conferences are the perfect time to spread messages, and with no need to hide from each other, it's easy to quickly suit-off suit-on post-battle for a quick speech, comment, or interview. This is Abellé's debut, not that she's out of practice. Nor has she been absent for the past two weeks, but they _did_ agree on introducing the new heroes one-by-one, so they couldn't be identified as, well, not exactly new.

"Good morning Paris!" Abellé trills, smoothing out her black skirt as if she does this all day. "I'm Abellé, your new Bee Hero, and I'm honoured to serve you!"

"What's it like, protecting us from Hawkmoth?" one reporter asks eagerly, and the girl beams.

"It's great, if I wish it was unnecessary. I'm proud to have been chosen."

"Éradichat! What do you think of your new companion?"

"Abellé have trained together before," he says casually. "I trust her with my life and I think the effort she's put into this is spectacular."

"Are there any more heroes in the works?" someone calls out, and this time it's Cochineal Revival who speaks up.

"There's always heroes. Even if you don't see us, even if we don't wear a mask - even those people who don't hold Miraculouses. Paris will always have someone protecting it."

* * *

"Hmm? Oh, Miraculous shirt," Chloé explains. "This is from my old identity, see? They raise funds for akuma prevention."

Chloé has a knack for making Mlle. Bustier's class exceedingly uncomfortable.

"That's one of the fashion ones, isn't it?" Adrien asks.

"Well, duh, Adrikins, I'm not wearing a tacky tourist one with Marinette's face plastered on it."

"Hey, I drew those myself!" Nathaniel protests indignantly.

"Doesn't stop it from being tacky, honey," Chloé points out. "I mean, a poster maybe, but no way in hell am I wearing anyone's portrait on my clothes. The hero outfits were tacky, too, you all realise? Mayura looks like she's going to a red carpet event and it's not fair."

"I think you looked fine," Sabrina says tentatively.

"Heroes? Yes. Haute couture? No," Chloé says blandly. "Aren't we meant to be doing history?"

* * *

"How was I supposed to know the Miraculi could dye hair!" Adrien whines.

"They dyed Pegasus's hair," Alix points out with a snort. "They make Marinette's hair longer. They make yours longer. They give you _cat eyes._ "

"This looks so mixed up," Nathaniel marvels.

Chloé grins, tugging at her skirt. "I'm just glad for this. I look - not like a superstar - but elegant. This isn't little Queen Bee, this is something else."

The masks aren't so rubbery now, more like the things that appear on the faces of akumatized citizens, but more elegant, less malicious. No more stretchy lycra suits, nor plain faces. They don't look like heroes, exactly, not entirely.

"I'm nervous again," Marc mutters. "This is dumb. I shouldn't be nervous."

A moment later, Leather Backup making a slightly squished noise, sandwiched between Abellé and Kitsune en Rouge. It's an odd sight, a green centurion smushed between an elegant young woman in gold and a casually dressed guy with two fluffy tails.

"They'll love you," Chloé says with a confidence only the spawn of Audrey Bourgeois can pull off. "I only make good choices, anyway."

Nathaniel snorts. "Chloé's egotism aside, they liked your debut. You look great, too. Don't worry about it."

"I'm egotistical because I'm wonderful," Chloé sniffs, and Marc laughs, leaning onto her. Unfortunately, this only serves to destabilise the whole pile, and in a second, there's a multicoloured pile of giggles on the carpet.

"Come on," Marinette sighs, shaking her head and smiling in amusement. "We've all got to be out there in five minutes. All good?"

"Yep!"

"All got snacks?"

"Yep!"

"Everyone's wearing clean underwear?"

Kagami raises an eyebrow. "…what?"

"Good afternoon, Paris!" Cochineal Revival calls out, and a small busload of heroes arrives in front of the cameras, dropping from the sky, jumping out of trees, running in from side streets. The reporters' eyes dart across them, evaluating the eight with practiced eyes. What to say, what to ask, what to do. The heroine with the short red hair knows exactly what to do, though, and she doesn't stop, except to adjust the bow at the front of her dress.

"I'm proud to present the last two heroes!" Cochineal Revival chirps, holding out a hand to two awkwardly waving figures to the side, smile only brightened by the heavy blush on her cheeks. "You already know the rest of us, of course, me, Éradichat -"

The cat hero waves, bright green eyes gleaming from under a black fringe, fiddling with the collar of his tuxedo. It's a sharp contrast from Chat Noir - if it weren't for the ears, staff, and ribbon-like tail, you could swear they were two different concepts altogether, but there they were.

"Abellé -"

Some say she looks more like a fairy than anything, gleaming in the sunlight with delicate wings and the glittering gold mask. Her hair is pulled up into an updo, save for a few curly flyaways, and her eyes sparkle amber. She's not a girl trying to be a hero, she's a young woman working her magic.

"Crown Guardian -"

Long double-braids and a circlet look like a hindrance in battle, really, but somehow she manages. She's used them as weapons more than once, which is impressive, though not as much as the horns on her head. For someone in a schoolgirl outfit, she's quite impressive, though nobody's about to say that to the person with the sword.

"Wonderland -"

A girl the image of the fantasy, oddly tomboyish and girly at the same time, hair streaked pastel blue, umbrella tucked into a holder at the hip of an aqua short, trainers scuffed. There's a sharp juxtaposition between the pretty white blouse and the rest of the costume, from ears to vibrant socks, and it somehow looks just right.

"and Paris Serpent!"

A boy with long green hair and what appears to be some sort of scaly jacket? There are a lot of questions about this one, especially considering how many people have been pegged by a lyre in recent days, but if it works, it works, they guess. Besides, the disapproval tends to come from the older generation - that's alright, then.

"And yesterday, I introduced our two newest heroes! But for those of you who missed out, and those who want to know more, here they are!" Cochineal waves a hand at the two waiting in the wings. "Leather Backup and Kitsune en Rouge, Paris!"

There's no small amount of shuffling around - Éradichat ends up jumping bodily over Abellé to make room, which later spawns a number of internet memes - and eventually the two newbies are standing smack in front of the cameras.

"Hello," Kitsune says, waving into the camera lens. Compared to the others, he's dressed very normally, if you discount the flute and animal features; plain red t-shirt, plain navy jeans. "I'm Kitsune en Rouge, your Fox hero hiding in plain sight, taking over from Nathaniel Kurtzburg." he finishes and makes a slight motion with his head, and Leather Backup is stepping forwards.

"Hi," the hero says, moving their helmet up their head slightly. "I, uh, I'm Leather Backup, Turtle Hero, taking over from Marc Anciel." He shifts awkwardly - this one isn't good with crowds, despite the Centurion's uniform.

"What's it like working with Paris's heroes?" Someone calls out, and as Kitsune takes a breath to speak, the whole thing begins anew.

* * *

"I do know them, really!" Lila cries.

"No, you don't," Alix, Adrien, Chloé, and Nathaniel chorus; Marinette is so exceedingly done she doesn't even bother speaking.

"How would you know -"

"We trained them, idiot," Chloé snaps. "Honestly, when will you learn to just _shut up_? Everyone knows you're trash."

"Not nice, Chloé," Mlle Bustier warns half-heartedly.

"You guys know their identities, then?" Max asks. "That must be a risk."

"It is," Marinette says evenly. "That's why we don't tell anyone else - and they certainly don't tell anyone, if they don't want their hero status revoked."

"How -?"

"Security risk," the heroes chorus, and Max shuts his mouth sheepishly.

The classroom is certainly more peaceful than it once was, apart from the occasional Volpina-based interruption. Mlle Bustier does her job, now. They all talk to each other again, at least, too. Juleka is getting better, probably because she's got a solid link - and in any case, she just wants to be remembered, too. Max is still berating himself over bad logic, which is actually almost amusing. Rose is quietly working to get better. Nino and Alya took it hardest, probably - they know something the other students don't, but they can never tell, and it still eats away at them, sometimes, when the school comes back from an akuma attack, one beaten down by shields and illusions. Kim is slowly coming back to his normal, cheery self - sometimes Marinette wonders whether King Monkey might come back some day, daft but jubilant, but it's too soon, it might always be - but he's honest about things. Sabrina is confused, but slowly growing into herself; they're glad, even if she's made mistakes along the way. Mylène and Ivan are silent more often than normal, leaning on each other, wondering if they might have been split apart for Lila's agenda, something few other friendships or couples seem to think about.

"You know, Lila," Nathaniel says quietly, "Things could have gone bad from your lying, and they could still. What would have happened if Marinette had gone through with _it_ , because of you?"

"It's not my fault! I have a -"

"So don't talk!" Chloé snaps.

It's harsh, but she's the only one who refuses to be sorry, even after everything, and they will never forgive her. She's going back to Italy in a month's time, when she can be accompanied, and it's not soon enough. 

The bell rings and they're packing up, leaving, stepping out into the hallway together, friends forged in peril. Luka and Kagami meet them halfway to the Seine, and LADYBUG sits down to yet another perfect afternoon under the sun - until Hawkmoth attacks, of course, yet while they wait…

Sure, there's a lot of bickering, but they're not perfect. Nobody is. Chloé is still overly puffed up and fiercely jealous of _her_ things, Adrien is still working on saying no, Marinette is still sensitive, Kagami is still working on expression, Luka is still overprotective, Nathaniel is still silent under pressure, Marc is still timid. But hey, they're friends.

And that, Marinette thinks, plucking a daisy from the ground and leaning back against Kagami, is what matters.

**Author's Note:**

> This is short, because there's not really a plot to be spoken of here. I tried.


End file.
